Alchemy

“Went digging through some of my older poetry to find this piece I wrote 9 years ago, March 2010. I remember being inspired to write it watching Hermione’s love potion scene in ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Price.’ I had just purchased the DVD at the time. My grandson was watching the DVD last night, which put me in mind of this poem. Wanted to share it here for dVerse OLN #252. It contains very minimal revision and a slight upgrade in graphic embellishment”

85D7649B-893D-4DF3-B34A-BBD5FCCC14D1

 

Alchemy

~

you cannot change
a heart of iron
into a heart of gold

no precious warmth
will manifest
from something hard and cold

a love that’s locked
and set in cast
can never be set free

there is no hope
nor magic spell
not even alchemy

51A71700-37A0-46A2-8732-6ED479833CDF

you cannot stop
the hands of time
from spinning ever on

when the sand
is through the hourglass
those days are ever gone

you cannot bring summer back
when the leaves
are off the tree

there is no hope
nor magic spell
not even alchemy

2B51D4D0-8D43-418B-82F5-4FED8AB9C058

~ ~ ~

rob kistner © 2010
revision © 2019

 

  • Click below to check out some fine poetry at dVerse:

    OpenLinkNight #252

  • 53 thoughts on “Alchemy”

    1. Hey Rob, here’s another “take” on your wonderful “Alchemy” poem which I would love to change via alchemist’s magic love potion! I wish!

      Alchemist’s Mistress

      you can change
      a heart of iron
      to gold

      precious warmth
      alchemy’s magic
      will heat the cold

      a love locked out
      cast to the wind
      never thought free

      there’s always hope
      spells loud incantations
      maybe even alchemy

      love makes
      time stands still
      forever moving on

      sands of time
      dissolve like dust
      forever completely gone
      maybe even alchemy

      Love like hope
      Springs eternal

      there is a hope
      and magic spell

      you can bring summer back
      when the leaves
      return to the trees

    2. Love be its own alchemy
      till wrong it goes
      yet even then turns
      one time more
      the magic spent
      on whys wherefores
      the breath like hoarfrost
      chilling what remains.

    3. The will of man is a hard thing, and, true, there is no changing of a hard heart–unless the inside begin melting first. You’ve written a beautiful poem expressing it…wistful even in certainty of despair.

    4. You certainly evoked strong responses – even inspired more poetry. I would just send a hug, this was so devoid of hope it hurt.

    5. Hello all –

      As Dee wrote, this poem evoked strong responses, and I appreciate all the comments — and the poetry offered by Jane and Maureen.

      This piece came to me in an almost stream-of-consciousness inspiration very late in the midnight hour, while brooding over an argument I had with Kathy hat evening. It was sparked by, of all things, a love potion scene from Harry Potter.

      I have a deep pessimism, a strong romanticism, and a very resonant melancholy that entwine within me. In my daily life I tend to find humor, even wonder in the world around me. I have a loving relationship with my wife and two surviving children.

      However, there has been horror in my life on more than one occasion, some over extended periods, and it has left a darkness deep inside. It is unnerving to me at times — but it does not rule me.

      I invite you to read a reasonable cross-section of my poetry to find the whole picture of me.

      I offer this in closing…

      not easy to change
      a heart of iron
      into a heart of gold

      or find the precious warmth
      required to thaw
      the hard and cold

      a love that’s locked
      and set in cast
      is difficult to free

      perhaps with hope
      and a bit of magic
      will come the alchemy

      …rob 😉

      1. no need to explain, your inner beauty shines through Rob!

        I absolutely love this original one and the add ons … HP has inspired quite a few of my poems, it’s great fodder 🙂

    6. There is sometimes something about life like that iron-clad heart impossible to break. No matter how hard you try, nothing will mend the missing pieces in life. We try to recover all the pieces left after the collapse, but they are, seemingly, unrecoverable. The French would say “C’est la vie”, but I would say, what Dylan Thomas would say “strive strive against the dying of the light”. The battle ensues; a never ending uphill battle similar to Sisyphis pushing the huge rock up the hill each day only for it to roll back down the hill each night. Daunting life can be. Yes, Rob, I can totally relate!

    7. oops i made a boo-boo. I meant to say Sisyphus and Dylan Thomas “Do Not Go Gently” should read “rage rage against the dying of the light”. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused (?) 🙂

    8. It’s been awhile since a poem made me pause this long. This piece is beautifully written.

      A tough piece of pessimism, but there is a unmistakable core of truth in it. Some things that are done simply cannot be undone–or undone simply.

      Knowing a little of the inspiration behind your work definitely gives perspective to understanding your voice. I’m sorry that your life has provided so much grist for darkness. Perhaps in surviving you can find a bit of catharsis in planting your experiences in your creative expression. And maybe, just maybe you can find a bit of hope in the process.

    9. after reading yr poem the picture made a whole lot more sense as a reference….it was a bit sad, beautiful tho…as if you were sitting contemplating, putting into words the sense of yr heartfelt emotions…being returned and reborn is a beautiful possibility as others have mentioned…it is timeless…

    10. Thanks for sharing this gem. Like you, on my 11 year old blog, I have thousands of old poems. If I was not working so hard on my Cinemagenic series, I’d dip into my archives too.

    11. As the French say, tant pis. Seasons change, people change, the world changes. It is logical – leaves off the tree cannot be glued or taped or wired back on. One can only wait for the new season and the new leaves to grow. I too have known much horror and darkness in my life. I totally relate to where you went with this.

      1. I was upset and in one of my many pessimistic phases when I wrote this Toni — up on mount negative. I come down to my dwelling plce in the rich valley of possibility frequently.

    12. I do love this… to me it represent all those irreversible little things happening, ana maybe magic is the things that truly would turn against the laws of nature.

      1. Thank you Kim, I am pleased you found positive resonance. I wrote a softer version down in the comments section. And withgood fortune, there will be the eventual summer.

    13. In the context of an argument I can see where you were with this. I’m glad you felt it then continued on. I like the flow of your poem, with the break in the center.

      1. Thank you Lisa. The first half of the poem is a declaration regarding love, albeit, somewhat pessimistic. The second part is a sort of warning of such, reminding that something gone, or left to expire, cannot be revived. The stanza about Summer leaves opens to door to a possible future, via a seadonal return.

    14. Time and the tides wait for no man… you have shown it well in this great poem, Rob. Hank William sang it best…”How can I heal your doubtful mind and melt your cold cold heart!

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *